MARYVILLE, Tenn. — The Maryville community is hoping to rally support to help an 11-year-old girl battling life-threatening complications from an infection.
Molly Rader is a fourth-grade student at Coulter Grove Intermediate School in Maryville. Julie Vananda, a special education teacher at CGIS, said Rader has been battling multiple medical emergencies after suffering complications from a lung infection -- including hemophagocytic lymphohistiocystosis.
"She is sassy, super opinionated. But she is smart and she loves to be with her friends and play hard with her friends. She's just, she's a lovely, lovely student," said Vananda. "Molly hadn't been in school since just a little after Thanksgiving. She started having fevers. So, it's been a while since we'd seen her at school. So we all kind of pitched in and kind of started talking about how can we support the family."
HLH is a rare but life-threatening immune deficiency disorder. On Dec. 16, Vananda said Rader was flown from East Tennessee Children's Hospital to Cincinnati Children's Hospital because Rader required intensive treatments in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. The Cincinnati hospital specializes in treating HLH.
"Molly's mother has stayed by her side while her family have traveled back and forth to support," Vananda said. "Every day we receive updates from Molly's parents sharing her progress and setbacks. The community has rallied around Molly and her family, providing prayers, meals, care packages and lots of love."
Vananda said CGIS is organizing two events to help Molly: A blood drive and a fundraiser race.
MEDIC Regional Blood Center is organizing the drive on Friday, Jan. 5 at Coulter Grove Intermediate School. A MEDIC mobile unit will be parked outside the school. You can click here to sign up for an appointment.
The race, "Molly'sMile," will be held Sunday, Jan. 7 at Coulter Grove Intermediate School at 1 p.m. The race will raise money to help pay for Molly's medical needs. Because Molly loves Disney princesses, people are encouraged to dress up in their best princess costumes, dresses, and tiaras for the race. You can learn more and sign up at this link.
"I think Maryville is a community that cares very much and takes care of one another," said Ramona Best, the principal of the school. "The staff at Sam Houston, where she is a student, is very much involved and is willing to help out. If you know Molly, you love her."